Barry Gardner wrote:

Paul,

In a tangential story to our interest in the rotary, today's Wall Street Journal reported that Mazda's quality was tops, based on German data.

Barry Gardner
Wheaton, IL

Mass-Market Mazda Trounces
Porsche in German Quality Study

CHRIS REITER and STEPHEN POWER
May 28, 2004; Page D2

BERLIN -- Vehicles made by prestige car maker Porsche AG last year broke down twice as often as autos made by Japanese mass-market rival Mazda Motor Co.,
according to a study of German accident data.

The study, conducted by the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Applied Sciences in Gelsenkirchen, claims to be the most comprehensive quality
study in Germany and indicates the increasing competitiveness in Europe of Asian manufacturers. The top seven places all were occupied by Asian car makers.

Researchers analyzed more than 500,000 breakdowns in Germany last year. The data, which included technical problems in cars during the past six model years,
was supplied by German automobile club ADAC.

The study found there were 15.7 problems per 1,000 Porsche cars last year, a rise from 12.6 a year earlier. Porsche's ranking dropped to 14 from five as a
result. Porsche's performance compares with 7.7 problems per 1,000 vehicles for Mazda, which claimed the top spot in the study.

The top European performer was Volkswagen AG unit Audi, which had 11.3 problems per 1,000 vehicles. The VW brand was ranked 10th, with 13.6 problems per 1,000
cars. Immediately behind VW was DaimlerChrysler AG unit Mercedes-Benz, which had 14.7 problems per 1,000 vehicles, down from 22.2 per 1,000 in 2003.

Porsche's performance in the study comes on the heels of two recalls this year and a similar performance in a study in the U.S. A Porsche spokesman declined
to comment on the study's findings.

Write to Chris Reiter at chris.reiter@dowjones.com and Stephen Power at stephen.power@wsj.com

I do think the RX8 has better quality than the first gen RX7's I have owned.
Only time will tell how well the plastics hold up over the next 10 or 15 years.

Paul Lamar
 
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